What if Nightshifter
by Katy M VT
Summary: What if it was a real bank robbery. Crossover with Numb3rs. A little far-fetched in places. Just go with it. Chapter 5 of 5 up.
1. Robbery

What if it was a real bank robbery?

Sam and Dean headed into the Los Angeles bank where they thought the shape shifter would strike next. They were wearing one of the stupid costumes Sam insisted on. They were pretending to be with the security company that provided the bank's security. Walking in, they headed to the security guard who was expecting them.

"Hi, so you need to check on our security cameras?" the guard asked.

"Yes, some similar models have been showing some problems and we just want to make sure everything is working properly with these," Sam said.

"Well, better safe than sorry, I guess," the guard said as he led the way to the security console. "We don't expect to get robbed as we have one of the best security measures there is," he continued.

"What's that?" Dean asked, realizing immediately that he shouldn't have since he should already know. Luckily the guard didn't seem to take notice.

"When one of the tellers pushes the alarm button, bullet proof glass comes down from the ceiling to the counter, protecting the tellers and the money. At the same time, the vault closes and can't be opened, except with a code that only you guys have."

"Well, the tellers are protected, but what about the customers?' Sam asked. He didn't know why he was asking about this, it had nothing to do with finding the shapeshifter.

"Well, they're vulnerable, but because any decent bank robber would do their homework and know about the impossibility of getting the money out of the vault, they just won't rob the bank. Here we are," he said as they entered the security room. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, we should be in and out of here before you know it," Dean said.

"Okey-dokey," the guard said and left.

"I like him. He says Okey-dokey," Dean commented.

Sam rolled his eyes. He would never understand Dean's criteria for whether or not to like somebody. Like that time he didn't like that college girl because she said 'I'm on a mission.'

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

They had been using the cameras to look at eyes for almost an hour. They had hit pretty much everyone. Dean zeroed in on a pretty teller's butt. "Dean we're supposed to be looking at eyes," Sam admonished.

"I'm getting there," Dean said as he raised the camera to the appropriate angle. "She's OK. That seems like everybody."

"Maybe we're off on this, maybe the shifter just isn't here."

"I don't know. Maybe."

The guard walked in. The bank is closing up in five minutes. You'll have to leave.

"OK, I think we're all set here anyway. Your systems seem fine."

"Good to know," the guard said and started to lead the way down to the lobby.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Don and Charlie Eppes were heading into the bank just before closing.

"Good, we made it," Charlie said. "I have to cash this check."

"I know, Charlie. You've been telling me how important it is for the last fifteen minutes. Go hurry up and cash it so we can go pick up Amita and Robin and go out to dinner."

Charlie went up to the tellers and handed over his check. Just then at the same time, the guard, Dean, and Charlie entered the lobby from the hallway and five ski-masked men with guns came in through the front door. One of them shot his gun in the air and yelled "Everybody down."

One of the tellers followed her training and pushed the alarm button. Thick glass came down from the ceiling to the teller counter. Charlie had to jump back quickly to avoid being hit by it. The electronic door through which the Winchesters and the guard came in closed and was locked.

"See, I told you this would happen. Let's get out of here," one of the gunmen yelled.

"And I told you, I saw two of the security company people come in. They'll know all the codes to get us the money," one of them answered.

Dean and Sam exchanged a troubled look. They didn't know any codes. "The cops are going to be here any second. You should get out while the getting's good," Dean said.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Don agreed.

"No, we're not leaving without our money," the most determined of the gunmen maintained. Sirens could be heard pulling up outside. "Too late now anyway." He nodded to one his partners who went to the door and locked it. The elderly security guard panicked and pulled his gun. One of the men shot him. Sam started to go to him.

"Hold it. Don't move."

Sam froze. He could tell the guard was dead anyway.

"Everybody get over here on the floor in front of the counters. Where did the tellers go anyway?"

"They have a door into the back area where they can get out in case of such a situation," Sam said, remembering seeing it when they went up earlier.

"First of all, everybody give me your wallets. When he get done here, there might be someone worth taking for a ransom."

"Two security guys and two random customers, I doubt it," one of the other gunmen said under his breath.

"Are you questioning my authority?" the lead guy yelled.

"Yeah, this was stupid. Now we're all going to go to jail for nothing."

The lead gunmen lifted his gun and shot that man. "Now, does anybody else have a problem with the plan?"

The rest of the gunmen shook their heads no.

"Good. Now, give me your wallets," he said addressing the four hostages. Sam, Dean, and Charlie immediately handed over their wallets. Don hesitated. He didn't want them knowing he was an FBI agent. On the other hand if he lied about not having a wallet, they would probably search him and then he would be in even bigger trouble. He pulled out his wallet and added it to the collection.

"See what we have," the head guy said handing the wallets to one of the others.

"The security guys are Dean Mogahoff and Sam Mogahoff," the gunman said before his boss cut him off.

"Same last name. That's interesting. Are you brothers?"

Sam and Dean didn't answer, just stared at him.

"Rule number 1, when I ask a question, you answer." He took his gun and jammed it up into Sam's chin. "Are you brothers?" he asked again.

"Yes, OK, leave him alone," Dean said.

The gunman smiled. "What about the two customers?"

The other guy opened up the first wallet and said, "Charles Eppes, he has a CalSci I.D. saying he's a professor there."

"Teacher, that's useless. Nobody will pay for that. Last guy?"

The gunman opened the wallet and though nobody could see it blanched underneath his mask.

"Crap."

"What?"

"FBI. Donald Eppes."

"Interesting. And that's the same last name as the professor here," he said moving over to Charlie and grabbing his hair. He yanked his head back.

"Leave him alone," Don said in a firm, low voice.

Don could see the lead gunman smile an evil smile underneath his mask. "Search him for weapons," he instructed one of his men.

He went over to Don and started frisking him. Don had no choice to put up his arms and submit to it with the leader covering Charlie. "He has a gun and a set off cuffs."

"OK, here's the deal," he said as he led Charlie and Sam over to pipe running along the wall. "You two will help us get the money and get out of here," he said addressing Dean and Don, "or these two will be pay for your failure." He cuffed Charlie and ran the other cuff behind the pipe and attached it to Sam's wrist, effectively keeping them pinned to that spot against the wall.


	2. Negotiations

The police and FBI were gathering outside. David and Colby walked up to the police officer in charge. "FBI, I guess this is our gig now," David said. He was in charge when Don wasn't around and so far, Don was a no show. "You talk to them yet?"

"Nope, just got here," the cop answered a little belligerently. Stupid Feds, he thought to himself.

"Do we know how many gunmen and how many hostages?" David asked, ignoring the attitude.

"One of the tellers said there were five gunmen and five hostages, but shots were fired after the tellers got out."

"OK, do you have the number to get in touch with them?"

The cop handed David a slip of paper and walked away.

"Are you going to start without Don?" Colby asked.

"Well, we can't while all the hostages are killed, can we?" David answered and began dialing the number.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

The phone inside the lobby rang. "That's the cops, I'm sure. What should I say to them?" Lead Gunman asked Don.

"There's no way out, just surrender," Don said.

The leader nodded to Sam and Charlie's guard and the guard punched Charlie hard in the stomach.

"Hey!" Don said.

"I told you how this works. Next time it will be more than a punch."

"They'll want to establish a rapport. Let them. Ask for something, like a car to get away in. They won't give it to you, but they'll back off a little knowing you want to negotiate. They'll also ask about the gunshots. Tell them one of your men shot one of the hostages and you shot him because he was going rogue." Don couldn't believe he was helping these guys, but one look at Charlie's guard told him he had no choice.

The leader answered the phone and told them what Don had told him to. "That had better work," he said and cut a menacing glance Charlie's way. "Now it's your turn," he said to Dean. "Give me the codes to get inside and to the vault.

Dean sighed. "I don't know the codes," he said.

Don couldn't believe this guy. "Come on, man. Don't be stupid. Just give him the codes."

"I don't know them."

The leader nodded at the guard again, who grabbed Sam's hair and pulled his head back. He then placed his gun to Sam's temple. "You have ten seconds to give me those codes," the leader told Dean.

Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew Dean didn't have the codes.

"6, 8, 4, 1, 3, 9" Dean said. The only thing he knew about the code was that it was six numbers.

The leader went over to the pad and began to punch it in. "This had better be right because it only gives you two chances," the leader said. He had really done his homework on this job. He knew everything except for the codes. They had been staking the place out for weeks knowing that the security firm made routine checks a couple of times a year. Today was the day and he wasn't going to let anything stand in his way. He pushed the enter button and the console flashed red and beeped. That meant the code was wrong and he had thirty seconds to put in the correct code or it would remain locked until two keys were produced to open it. One was kept at the security firm's headquarters, the other was kept by the bank manager in a safe deposit box at a different branch of the bank.

"Last chance," he yelled at Dean.

"0, 1, 2, 4, 7,9," he didn't know why he'd said that. The odds of the code being his birthday were pretty slim.

Charlie also, of course, realized that if this guy really didn't know the code, the odds of guessing it in two tries were 1 in 500,000. Since he had already missed the first guess, the odds went down to 1 in 999,999. In other words, not good. Not good at all.

The man put in the numbers. Sam knew for a fact that Dean didn't know the number. He couldn't believe he used his birthday, but then again it did have as much chance as being the number as anything else. More so than all ones or all twos. But, he still knew it wasn't right. Don on the other hand was holding his breath. He had no idea if this guy knew the number and had just been stalling before.

The door clicked open. Don breathed a sigh of relief. Dean's eyes widened in amazement. As the guard let go of Sam's hair, he slowly opened his eyes and realized what happened. He raised an eyebrow at Dean who shrugged at him in return.

"You two come back with us and help us bag up the money," the leader motioned to Dean and Don. "Your brothers will stay out here with the guard to be punished if you don't bag fast enough."

"I'm getting really sick of this guy," Dean muttered under his breath. Don grunted his agreement. They both nodded encouragement to their brothers as they were herded back to the vault.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

David and Colby were outside deciding their next move. The bank robbers had given them two hours to have a van out back. They decided to get one so that it would look like they were cooperating, but there was no way they were going to let them anywhere near it. A man walked up to them, "Which of you is Agent Sinclair?" he asked.

"I am," David answered. "What can I do for you?"

The man flashed his FBI badge and said, "I'm special agent Victor Henriksen. I came to L.A. on a Winchester sighting and then I heard about this bank robbery. Thought maybe there might be a connection."

"Winchester?" Colby asked.

"Yeah, you know, Sam and Dean Winchester. They're on our Most Wanted list. Not as high up as I think they should be, but what are you going to do?"

"So, what are they wanted for? Other bank robberies?" David asked.

"No, Dean Winchester killed a whole slew of women in St. Louis and a couple in Baltimore. Also, identity theft, grave desecrations, a bunch of lesser crimes. Nobody can ever seem to catch him to put him on trial, though. They were both in police custody, briefly, in Baltimore, but they escaped," Henriksen explained, still angry at the cops that had allowed that to happen, and the story of the surviving one who said that they had helped her catch a killer and saved her life. Ridiculous!

"Why do you think they're involved in this?" Colby asked, not hearing anything about bank robbery in the list of crimes.

"Too big of a coincidence, them being here," Henriksen answered.

That made David think of Charlie and realize that Don still hadn't shown up. "I wonder where Don is," David said.

"Don't know. We should call inside again, though, we haven't talked to anyone in a while," Colby said.

"Do you have the names of the hostages?" Henriksen asked. Maybe that would give some clue as to whether the Winchesters were involved. He wasn't sure how, though.

"No, we'll ask for that this time," David said as he picked up the phone.


	3. Double Crossed

The phone in the lobby began to ring. The man guarding Sam and Charlie walked over to the door that led to the vault area and called, "The phone's ringing. What do you want me to do?"

The leader said, "We'll let the Fed handle it. Go talk to them, and you know the consequences if you mess up."

Don nodded and walked out of the vault. The guard was still standing at the door, but aiming his gun at Charlie. Don sighed. There was no way this was going to end well and he was afraid his brother was going to be the first to get caught in the crossfire.

"You OK, Buddy?" Don asked Charlie before picking up the phone.

Charlie just nodded. He was also thinking this wasn't going to end well. He had been running probabilities of the different outcomes in his head and he just didn't like what he was coming up with.

"Hello," Don said as he picked up the phone.

David immediately recognized Don's voice. However, he wasn't sure if the hostage takers were listening in, so he said, "This is Agent David Sinclair. May I ask who I'm speaking with?"

"I'm one of the hostages," Don answered, seeing that Charlie's guard was listening in very intently.

"Can you give me your name, and the name of the other three hostages?" David asked.

Don didn't want to spook the guard, so he took the phone away from his ear and put his hand over the mouthpiece. "He wants to know the names of the hostages."

"What do you think?" the guard asked, knowing that Don was supposed to be helping them best deal with the cops.

"I think you should demand something in return, so that they still think you're negotiating and will back off for a little while longer," Don advised.

The guard nodded. "What should we ask for?"

"How about food?" Don suggested.

"OK, ask for a pizza. Pepperoni."

Don got back on the phone. "They say that I can give you the names if you agree to get us a pepperoni pizza."

"Sure," David said.

Don nodded to the guard and said "Don and Charlie Eppes, and Dean and Sam Mogahoff," hoping he remembered the other set of brothers' names correctly.

"Is anyone else listening to my end?" David decided to chance asking.

"No," Don answered.

David knew there would be no time for a protracted conversation and tried to think of one yes or no question that would help them. "Do you think we should come in right now?"

Don hesitated. The others were distracted loading up money, but this guy's sole job was keeping Charlie and Sam hostage. They would probably be killed instantly if the FBI stormed the place. "No," he finally said. The guard grabbed the phone away and hung up. He thought something suspicious was going on in the conversation that he could only hear half of.

"What did he ask you?"

"He asked if anyone else had been hurt. I said no. He then asked if I thought you were going to hurt us. I was trying to decide which answer would best keep them at bay. I decided on no."

"Get back to work," the guard said.

Don took a last look at Charlie and didn't like what he saw. Charlie was pale and sweaty, clearly afraid. The other guy looked more calm, like he'd been in big trouble before. He went back to the vault to finish filling up the bags. The robbers wanted exactly four bags full of "loot."

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

David looked at Colby and said "Don and Charlie are two of the hostages."

"What?" Colby nearly shouted.

"Who are Don and Charlie?" Henriksen asked.

"Our team leader and his brother," David supplied. "The other two hostages are named Dean and Sam Mogahoff."

"I'd be willing to bet anything that those are aliases for Sam and Dean Winchester," Henriksen said.

"But why would they be hostages if they're your bank robbers?" Colby asked.

"Because they only have two hostages. They felt like they needed more to keep the cops off their backs," Henriksen reasoned.

"But the witnesses coming out said that there were five men in ski masks and five hostages. Why would they start off unmasked if this was only a ruse for not having enough hostages?" David asked.

"I don't know. We can figure that out when we get them in custody," Henriksen answered.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

The four bags were full and the leader put the last of them outside the vault. "You two stay here and watch these guys. I'm going to go get our hostages and we can get out of here."

"You don' t need to take them," Dean said.

"He's right. You're better off without them. Hostages just make the cops want to find you quicker," Don quickly agreed.

"Nice try, but they're coming with us," and with that he left the vault.

Don and Dean both looked at the two remaining gunmen and each came to the conclusion that there would be no advantage to rushing them. They were stuck here and there didn't seem to be any chance that Sam and Charlie wouldn't be taken as hostages.

Suddenly the vault door slammed shut. "What the hell?" Dean asked.

"Looks like you guys have been double-crossed," Don said to the gunmen.

"No, it was a mistake. He'll open it back up."

"I don't think so, guys," Dean said.


	4. Arrests

"Get the bags all full?" the guard asked.

"Yeah, let's take these two and high-tail it out of here."

Sam and Charlie exchanged a glance. They had yet to speak to each other since the guard had made it clear that talking would be punished severely. But even so, they had formed some sort of a bond because of their predicament. The guard unlocked the cuff from charlie's wrist and quickly reattached it when he had brought it out from behind the pole.

"How are you planning on getting out of here?" Sam asked.

"We've been planning this job a long time. Just been waiting for someone from your company to make an inspection. We got a way out through the basement," the leader explained.

The guard grabbed Charlie's arm and started leading him towards the basement. Sam had no choice but to go along. When they got downstairs, the leader moved a filing cabinet out of the way to reveal a hole in the wall, just large enough for a man to crawl through. "OK, Jake goes first and then you two, and I'll go through last. Try anything and you'll regret it."

"What happened to your other partners?" Sam asked. He had assumed they would be waiting down here for them, but it was obvious since the leader had to move the cabinet that nobody had gone through yet."

"We locked them in the vault with your brothers. Better to split money two ways than four don't you think. Speaking of which…," the leader hefted the bags into the space, one by one.

Jake disappeared through the hole and then Sam followed behind with Charlie right after. They were able to stand after they ducked in the space and found themselves in the town sewer system. Sam realized he should have known. The sewer system was why they had been in that particular bank in the first place. He just hoped they didn't run into the shifter down here.

"We each take a bag. Now walk!" the leader demanded.

They started walking the way he indicated. Jake walking in front of them and the leader taking up the rear. The passageway was narrow with Sam and Charlie having to do an awkward sideways walk at times since there wasn't always room for two abreast.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Pizza's here," David noted.

"OK, let's bring it up to the door." Colby went and retrieved the cap and jacket from the delivery boy so that he could "deliver the pizza." When he got to the door and looked in he didn't see anyone.

"David, why don't you call them and tell them the pizza is here," he called back.

David picked up the phone and called. He let the phone ring for several minutes. "Nobody's answering," he said when Colby came back to see what the hold up was.

"I don't like the sound of that," Colby responded.

"We should go in," Henriksen decided to put in his two cents worth. He had been content to let these guys handle the situation, but he suddenly had a feeling the Winchesters might get away.

"Yeah, let's go," David decided.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"You should probably put those guns down," Don advised. "You don't want to be holding them when the FBI and cops come in."

"Yeah, you're right," one of them said and put his gun down and walked to the other side of the vault. His friend did the same thing and they removed their masks.

"Why did your friends ditch you?" Dean asked. He didn't like the fact that his brother was the hostage of a mercenary man with seemingly no loyalty to anyone. That made him extra dangerous.

"I don't know. They're brothers. Always looking out for each other and screw everybody else. We should have known better than to get involved with them."

They heard the vault door open. "Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head," Don instructed. He wanted this to go down as quickly and smoothly as possible so they could find out what happened to Charlie and Sam.

The two bank robbers did as instructed and when the door opened, David and Colby took in the situation and immediately went to cuff the two perpetrators. Henriksen also entered the vault and went up to Dean. "Well, well, Dean Winchester. I have been looking for you for a long time."

"What are you talking about? I thought your last name was Mogahoff?" Don was confused by this turn of events.

"One of a long list of aliases," Henriksen threw over his shoulder to Don. To Dean he said, "On your knees, hands behind your head."

Dean did as he was told, not seeing any other option. "Where's Sam?" he asked.

"No idea. Hoping you could tell us. Have a falling out and he left you behind?" Henriksen asked.

"We weren't involved in this," Dean said.

"Are you telling us that the other two robbers got away with Charlie?" Don asked.

"I don't know. I don't see how. The rest of the team is scouring the building right now," David said.

"What do you mean you don't know? You didn't see them leave the building?"

"No. We decided to come in when we couldn't see anyone through the windows or reach anyone on the phone," Colby responded as he started to herd the two bank robbers out to the waiting police cars. Henriksen followed with Dean.

Sam, Charlie, Jake and the leader emerged outside of the sewer about five miles away from the bank. It had been a difficult walk, especially for Charlie and Sam due to odd positions they had to sometimes take in walking. The robbers had removed their masks in the sewer and Charlie realized that was a bad omen. They were careful not to let anyone know what they looked like before, but now they didn't care. It could only mean they were going to kill them. When they were outside, Jake grabbed Charlie's arm and the leader grabbed Sam's and they were ushered over to a van across the street. Jake opened the back door and the leader shoved them in. He slammed the door closed behind them and used a chain to lock it. Jake and the leader then ran to the front and got in. Jake started the engine and they drove off.

The leader turned around to look at Sam and Charlie. "Do you like the grating we had put up in the van? You two probably feel like you're in a cage." He gave them an evil grin and turned to face forward again.

Sam began looking around to see if there was anything he pick the lock on the cuffs with. He found a stack of papers held together by, joy of joys, a paper clip. He slyly removed the clip and palmed it when the leader turned around again.

"Just so you know. We're going to kill you and nobody will ever find your bodies." He turned back around again. Sam was going to pick the lock when the leader turned around yet again.

"Behave yourselves and we'll make it quick." This time he didn't face forward again, but let them know all the ways he would torture them if they tried to escape. Charlie turned several shades whiter.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"So, where did your buddies go?" Don asked, interrogating one of the bank robbers.

"I don't know. He ditched us."

"Look, you're looking at life in prison. If you help us find your buddies and my brother, we can work out a deal. But only if we find them before something happens to my brother," Don said in a menacing tone.

"I don't know," the man answered, telling the truth.

Don got up and kicked his chair across the room, frustrated. He knew they had to find Charlie fast or he was dead. He went out in the hallway and met David in the hall. "How'd it go with the other one," Don asked.

"He says he doesn't know where they went and I believe him. I think these guys were played."

"Yeah, I think so, too," Don agreed. "What's that guy, Henriksen, doing?"

"He's questioning Dean Winchester. He's convinced that he's the mastermind of the whole thing."

"That makes no sense," Don said. "I was in there with those guys. They were as much hostages as Charlie and I were."

"I don't know, Don. I've looked at these guys' file. Dean is wanted for several murders in St. Louis. The charge against him in Baltimore is pretty sketchy, but the one in St. Louis looks pretty clear. The only weird thing is he somehow managed to fake his death."

"How did he do that?" Don asked.

"No idea. He must have found a lookalike and killed him. His brother positively ID'd him before leaving town."

"And the cops just believed him."

"Sam wasn't wanted for anything back then. Up until a few months prior, Sam was a pre-law student at Stanford with a bright future."

"What changed?" Don asked.

"His girlfriend died in an apartment fire and Sam just took off with his brother."


	5. Interrogation

"So, what went wrong with the bank robbery?" Henriksen was asking Dean.

"For the millionth time, we didn't have anything to do with that. You should be out there looking for Sam," Dean said.

"Oh, we're looking for him alright. Taking a fed's brother hostage. I thought he was smarter than that."

"He's a hostage," Dean shouted, getting really irritated with this guy.

"Did he leave you behind as payment for what you did to his girlfriend?" Henriksen asked.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.

"I'm pretty sure you're the one who set that fire that Jessica Moore died in," Henriksen said.

"That's not true," Dean said.

Don poked his head in. "Have you got anything?"

"You guys should be out looking for Sam. You know very well we weren't in on this," Dean said to Don.

"I don't know what to think. I just looked at your file and it seems like you guys have been in an awful lot of trouble. Henriksen thinks you're involved. I'm supposed to believe a murderer over a fellow agent?"

"I haven't killed anyone," Dean denied. Well, nobody still living, anyway, he added mentally.

"If anything happens to my brother, and I find out your brother had something to do with it, you're going to wish you were never born," Don said and left the room. Privately, though, he thought Henriksen was way off on this one.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

The van pulled up to a cabin in the middle of the woods. "Well, here we are boys," Jake said.

The leader had stopped threatening Sam and Charlie about five minutes earlier and Sam had just managed to get the cuffs off. The leader got out and went around back to open the door. Jake followed and they were both standing at the back when they opened the door. Sam was ready for them and kicked out knocking Jake to the ground. He then took advantage of the leader's distraction and cuffed one of his hands to the back door. "Come on," he yelled to Charlie and dragged him off running to the woods. Both of the robbers had managed to hang onto their guns and Sam knew he couldn't disarm them before he or Charlie, possibly both of them, were shot.

Jake quickly pulled the handcuff key from his pocket and freed his brother and they took off in pursuit. However, Sam and Charlie had a little bit of a lead and they hoped it would be enough.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Do I get a lawyer or something?" Dean asked. He wasn't sure what good that would do, but maybe if he could convince the lawyer, the lawyer could do something to help Sam. Dean knew that every minute that went by put Sam in more danger of being killed.

"You're going to lawyer up?" Henriksen asked. "I thought you were worried about your brother. Why not tell us where to find him."

"Because I don't know. I've told you that six million times."

"Fine, I'll get you a lawyer," Henriksen said, and left. He wasn't getting anywhere anyway.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sam and Charlie were making their way through the woods. Charlie was having a hard time keeping up. "You should go on without me," he said to Sam.

"What? No way!" He knew Charlie wouldn't stand a chance if those two caught up to him and he was alone.

"I'm slowing you down. You have better odds if we split up."

"If we're going down, we're going down together," Sam said firmly and started leading the way towards the sound of water.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Jim, I think they're heading for the river," Jake said to his brother as they were tracking Sam and Charlie through the woods.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Let's cut them off."

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Sam, are we headed towards a river?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, it's the best way to find our way out of the woods.

"But these guys are smart. Won't they know that, too, and head us off?"

Sam pondered this. "Yeah, you're probably right. Let's head back the way we came from. They won't be expecting that."

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Henriksen was leading a handcuffed Don down to the garage. He had gotten the paperwork in order to extradite him to St. Louis. There just wasn't enough evidence to hold him here on the bank robbery.

"I can't leave until you find Sam," Dean protested.

"Not your problem anymore," Henriksen said. "If he is a hostage and gets killed it will be kharmic justice."

Dean nearly lost it. He twisted out of Henriksen's grasp and spun around and kneed him in the groin. Henriksen doubled over and Dean took off, not having any idea of how he was going to get the cuffs off and find Sam.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sam and Charlie crept towards the edge of the woods and Sam looked around. "I don't see anybody," he whispered. "I think we can make it to the van."

They crept over to the van and got in. Sam hotwired it and they drove off towards L.A.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Dean made it back to their hotel room and wondered how he was going to get in. He heard someone coming around the corner. He looked up to see Sam approaching. "Sammy, thank God. I thought you were dead for sure," Dean said in a relieved voice.

"Yeah, we got away. What's with the cuffs?"

"Got arrested for the bank robbery. "

"OK, we should get out of here, quick," Sam said.

"Is Charlie OK?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I dropped him off a block away from the FBI building," Sam said as he picked the lock on Dean's cuffs.

"OK, let's grab our stuff and jet," Dean said.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Charlie walked into the FBI building and headed up to Don's team's area.

"Charlie!" Don yelled when he saw him exiting the elevator.

"Hey," Charlie said as Don, David, and Colby circled around him.

"Are you OK?" Don asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Charlie said, "Thanks to Sam."

Just then, Henriksen walked up. "Where's Sam now?"

"I don't know. He dropped me off a block away."

"Which way did he go?" Henriksen asked urgently.

"I don't know," Charlie said again. He did know but he owed Sam his life. Sam had told him he was wanted but he was innocent and Charlie believed him.

"Are you in on this with him," Henriksen bellowed.

"Hey!" Don said. "That's enough. I think your job here is done. The Winchesters aren't wanted in conjunction with this bank robbery, so they're still your fugitives. Go after them."

"I need to question your brother about their whereabouts."

"He doesn't know anything. Get lost," Don said.

Henriksen shrugged and left. He needed to find the Winchesters ASAP. He would just be wasting his time here. Sam had obviously brainwashed Charlie and his brother's team would just believe everything he said anyway. He didn't blame the kid. Lots of people fell victim to the Winchester's charisma, charm, whatever it was, but they could rest assured that when, when not if, they met face to face, he would be immune.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Don, Charlie, David, and Colby sat down to talk in an empty conference room.

"So, what are Sam and Dean wanted for?" Charlie asked.

"Dean killed several people in St. Louis, plus both of them for identity theft, credit card fraud, and grave desecrations."

"I can't believe any of that," Charlie said.

"Charlie, do you know where they are now?" Don asked.

"No, he didn't exactly tell me where he was going. But, Don, he had a chance to leave me behind and he didn't. I was holding him back, but he stuck with me. If he hadn't I'd probably be dead. Doesn't sound like a killer to me."

"Well, I guess his brother is the killer. He just goes along for the ride," Colby said.

"I hate to say it, but I hope these are two fugitives who never get caught," Charlie said.

"Charlie," Don began.

"I swear I don't know where they are, Don. I'm just saying I'm glad I don't know where they are. No crime in that is there?"

"Guess not," Don said, secretly thankful to Sam for helping to save his brother's life.

The End


End file.
